Familiar Encounters
by GuardianOfEcosystems
Summary: While out on an anomaly alert, the team take a journey that, unknown to them, parallels that of a journey taken by the original ARC team and they even end up meeting an old friend of the ARC team...


**Familiar Encounters**

A long, sleek, silver SUV roared down the winding grey road. The driver was clearly in a rush as the car raced along, tyres screeching and with headlights glinting. The vehicle screeched to a halt in an empty parking lot. The front doors swung open and a figure climbed out.

This was Evan Cross, cool and determined. He had soulful grey eyes and short, messy brown hair. He wore dark blue jeans and a sweatshirt. A leather jacket lay slung over his shoulder. He had seen more violence and carnage in the last few months than most people see throughout their entire lives. He waited patiently for his colleague, Dylan Weir.

The animal control officer unclipped her seatbelt and turned to grab her tranquilizer gun from the back seat. Climbing out, she brandished her gun. She also had a box of darts of various concentrations. She had green eyes and long blonde hair frequently pulled back. A vegetarian and animal lover, she respected nature and adored animals yet knew that the creatures they now dealt with almost weekly were much fiercer than wolves or even black bears.

Evan locked the doors. They were lucky, their modified computer had detected the anomaly as soon as it appeared and activated the alarms as well as the hazard lights. Toby turned off the alarms and lights and with everyone else already in the building, they had set off straight away. He and Dylan had gone in their car while Toby followed in her vehicle.

The anomaly had opened in the middle of a large area of open grassland surrounded by dense forest. The Vancouver city was miles away, which gave them enough time to take down any dangerous prehistoric animals before they reached the main city or the residential suburbs that bordered it.

Very few people came out this far. Joggers, cyclists and sports enthusiasts stayed closer to the suburbs where they lived to exercise in city parks and people with dogs used the green spaces to exercise their dogs. Families out on day trips tended not to head up into the forest or the surrounding mountains due to the threats from venomous snakes, cougars or wolves.

Although a more dangerous animal could be patrolling the forest right now watching for its next meal… the thought made Evan shiver. In the last four months, they had dealt with two Utahraptors, a pteranodon, a fully grown prehistoric snake called titanoboa, a giant prehistoric insect, two Lycaenops, three vicious terror birds, an Oviraptor and a Pachycephalosaurus

Almost all those creatures had been carnivores, this time, just this once he was hoping for a herbivore. Even if it was a big vegetarian, like a Sauroposeidon or a woolly mammoth it would still be easier to take on than a saber-toothed tiger or a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Just once more, he thought, would be nice.

He sighed and looked around "Where is she?" He asked impatiently. The more time they wasted, the easier it became for a dangerous dinosaur to reach the city outskirts and the innocent people who lived there. So many would be at risk; house pets, families, elderly people even children… The mere thought made him shudder.

"Don't worry. Dylan reassured him. "She'll be here soon." "I hope they do." Evan muttered. Dylan rolled her eyes. At times, dealing with Evan could be impossible, for such a highly intelligent person, he could be incredibly stubborn at times. Suddenly a black dot in the distance caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes.

"There!" She shouted, pointing. A large red Jeep was careering down the road towards them. Evan turned and spotted it. "Finally she's here" He strode forwards. As the vehicle approached, they spotted Toby driving furiously. Dylan smirked

The Jeep screeched to a stop and Toby climbed down looking shaken. She walked over "Bad journey?" Dylan asked. "Awful." She replied and Evan smiled despite himself at her disheveled appearance.

"I got a report on the way of a creature" Toby replied. Evan turned to her for an explanation "It was when I took a pit stop because I had to use the toilet. When I finished, I saw a tall, elderly man out walking with a dog, a golden retriever. He held a cane. He looked shaken and was glancing around from side to side and walking fast. I knew he had seen or encountered a dinosaur or another creature."

"Luckily he seemed fine, uninjured, just shocked. Plus the dog was barking and pulling him on. He was clearly in shock and the dog wanted to get away. I stopped and asked him what he had seen."

"He told me he was out in the field throwing a ball again and again for his retriever dog. Suddenly the dog turned to the trees, barking, but he couldn't understand why. He turned and saw a huge shape moving through the trees less than 2 meters away. He knew it was a large animal, bigger than a lion or a tiger. It was nearly as tall as an elephant but sounded like a carnivore. He had no idea what kind of animal it was."

"He heard growling and heavy footsteps. He heard foliage moving and branches breaking. He was terrified but felt frozen, too scared to move. He raised his cane to defend himself in case it approached. His dog was panicking. He called its name but the dog barked and ran towards the creature which turned and roared. The noise was terrifying. Then it walked towards them. The dog ran off."

"The creature ignored it and came towards him. The man dropped his cane and closed his eyes. He was sure he was going to die now. He said a final prayer and silently said goodbye to his adult children; his son and his daughter and his wife Maria. Then suddenly his dog returned and ran towards the creature barking. He shouted but the dog snapped at the beast then dodged its attack."

"The creature roared and the dog lunged at it. The creature bit down but the dog dodged. It ran around the creature barking and snapping at its feet. The monster was roaring and twisting."

"It kept trying to grab hold of the dog but it was too quick. Finally the beast gave up and thundered away. The dog went racing after it and chased the beast to the edge of the clearing. It barked again then came back."

"The man told me he just stood still for at least 5 minutes, frozen with fear. Then he snapped back to reality. He ran back towards the trees and his dog raced after him. Once he was sure the creature was gone he turned right and ran back towards the path, he slowed down after a bit as he got tired.

"He said he had to get back to his car parked on the main road and drive back to the city suburbs where he lives. He said he was never coming back here again. Then he turned and headed off with the dog pulling the lead. By now I felt scared too so I ran back to my car parked by the roadside and headed off"

The team shared worried looks. The creature that had frightened the elderly citizen and his dog didn't sound like a gentle plant-eating dinosaur. "We need to find this creature before it kills or frightens anyone else." Evan said and Dylan nodded. He ran over to his truck, opened the gun case then grabbed the guns and handed one to each member of the team. He locked his SUV. "Right let's go." Evan said and the team headed off into the forest.

The team marched through the forest. Tall spruce trees towered over them and the forest floor was littered with fallen leaves and dead foliage. Occasionally, they passed signs of a large animal; trampled plants and broken branches. Their most chilling clue had been found less than five minutes ago.

They had discovered the shredded remains of a farm animal. The corpse had been mutilated with the stomach cavity torn open with the vital organs having been consumed. Dylan grimly identified it as a dead horse. They now knew they were dealing with a large predator. This was a creature large enough to take down the biggest prey animals in the area.

Two other horses stood tethered to a wooden fence nearby. One was standing still with a lowered head, tail flicking and chewing the grass. The other reared up as they walked over and neighed. Once the horse had calmed itself, Dylan loosened the rope. The frightened stallion cantered away towards a large wooden barn in the distance located next to a whitewashed house.

Dylan approached the grazing stallion and loosened its reigns. The horse ignored her and let its reigns hang loose. The team shared a look. They had to get this horse moving and fast. Evan then raised his gun and fired a single shot up into the air. Startled, the stallion took off and thundered away. At least inside the horses was safe from the creature.

Afterwards, they returned to the horses' carcass to see if they could the creature they were dealing with from its killing style.

The killing style mirrored that of a large monitor lizard, an alligator or a crocodile yet there was a problem. There was no present day lizard that stood over 2 meters tall which was the height it would have to stand to deliver such powerful wounds to a fully grown horse.

This creature had clearly come through an anomaly from the past. Dylan suspected it either was a giant prehistoric lizard such as a megalania or it was a therapsid or a mammal-like reptile. However, the killing style seemed to point towards a therapsid as a megalania would take down slightly easier prey such as goats, cattle and small horses while a therapsid would go after stallions and bullocks which were harder to kill.

This was because sheep and young horses were smaller and megalania was like all lizards, a squatting reptile that would latch onto a leg or tail of an animal. Sheep and young horses were easy to kill and could even be swallowed whole by a monster like megalania while adult horses and bullocks would still be able to kick and gore meaning they were not worth the risk when easier prey was available. A therapsid like gorgonopsid however was taller than a horse or a bull and thus could quickly deliver a fatal bite to even the largest of prey.

Therapsids thrived during the Early-Late Permian time zone around 250 million years ago. Some like Scutosaurus or diictodon were peaceful herbivores. On the other hand, some like the gorgonopsid were fierce predators.

This animal she suspected was by one of the gorgonopsian family. These creatures were not dinosaurs. Dinosaurs appeared long after therapsids yet their kind would evolve into the first dinosaurs once the cataclysmic Permian extinction had driven 70% of all other species into extinction. More well-known dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus Rex, triceratops and velociraptor would appear much, much later.

The largest therapsid ever to walk the earth was the Gorgonopsid and stood nearly 12 feet tall weighing around 750 kilograms. It could easily kill a lion or a tiger and would seriously injure an African elephant. Now they had some idea of the animal they were tracking they had increased the dosage of their darts significantly to take down the giant.

As they moved through the trees, Dylan paused "Did you hear that?" Evan turned "Hear what?" "That." She repeated. The group listened carefully. All they heard was birdsong and the wind moving. "I don't hear anything?" Evan stated. Dylan shrugged "I thought you were an animal expert?" Toby asked jokingly. "I am." She replied irritated. As the group turned to move, the foliage nearby rustled. "Wait." Evan said and the group halted.

The foliage rustled and a chirping sound emanated from the bushes. Dylan raised her guns. The bushes moved followed by a chirp. Evan had his finger on the trigger. Dylan however was not so sure this animal was dangerous. Then a small lizard crawled out of the bushes. "Wait, guys hold your fire." Dylan said. Evan relaxed his grip on their gun.

"It's just an iguana!" Toby exclaimed. "No, it's not an iguana." Dylan said "It doesn't have the throatal flap under its chin." "Then it's a chameleon or a gecko." "No its skin is not changing colour even though we're threatening it and its body is too long to be a gecko." "One thing's certain. "Evan said "It's not the gorgonopsid." Dylan meanwhile squatted down and examined the lizard.

It gazed up at them blinking and chirping. Dylan addressed the other team members. "It's not a gecko, iguana, chameleon or even a monitor lizard. It's not any present day lizard." "So this is a prehistoric creature?" Evan said and she nodded. "Well it doesn't look like a T. Rex or a stegosaurus." Evan said. "It's no dinosaur either." Dylan replied.

The reptile had a long green body on scaly limbs and three-toed feet. It had a long, reptilian tail and transparent wings lay flat along its back. A green crest lay flat atop its head and it flickered out a long tongue. "It's got wings." Evan said quizzically, frowning.

At the sound of his voice, the lizard launched off the ground. They gazed up in amazement as it flew around the clearing, chirping and dodging the trees. "Wow" Evan said. They were all amazed by its flying abilities. "And we thought the pterosaurs of the Mesozoic era were the first vertebrates to do powered flight." Dylan said. "And when was that?" Evan asked.

She was quiet then spoke quietly and slowly as so not to scare the flying lizard "It began 300 million years ago and ended 65 million years ago when a fiery comet collided with the earth." Evan thought for a moment then snapped his fingers as a thought hit him "Wait that was when dinosaurs ruled the world!" She nodded, without taking her eyes off the flying creature.

"There were flying dinosaurs?" He asked. Dylan shook her head. "The flying creatures were related to dinosaurs but they weren't dinosaurs. All dinosaurs were strictly land-based creatures where pterosaurs had hollow bones and were fairly large but light" "What is it?" Toby asked to bring the discussion back to their task.

"It's a coelurosauruvus." Dylan replied. The others looked at her quizzically "Come again?" Evan said. She rolled her eyes "Basically a flying lizard from the Permian age." She explained. "Is it dangerous?" Evan asked and she shook her head in response. Then she added

"It's from the same age as the gorgonopsid though." As this, they all looked at her. The lizard suddenly flew up to her and landed on her head. Startled, she froze. Toby reached into her dart pouch for a low concentration dart to take down the lizard but before she could, the Coelurosauruvus flapped up and glided away into the treetops.

"Great now you scared it." Evan complained. They all gazed up at the lizard perched on a tree limb high above them. "How are we gonna get it down?" Suddenly the lizard let out several loud chirps and flew higher up the tree. Evan frowned "Why is it going higher?" Suddenly a loud grunt rang out behind them.

The trio spun round, guns raised and ready, and then froze in horror. Right in front of them stood a monstrous animal, snorting and breathing heavily. "Oh shit." Evan swore loudly. The gorgonopsid had arrived.

Its enormous body was covered in mottled green skin and supported by powerful limbs and clawed feet. It's long, reptilian tail hung behind it and its huge head ended in massive jaws filled with curved, knife-sharp teeth. Its fierce yellow eyes gazed back at them as it let out a mighty roar.

"Run!" Evan shouted and the group scattered. He ran deeper into the forest while Dylan headed for the parking lot. Toby turned to run yet tripped and fell, sprawling to the ground. She screamed as the monster turned on her and roared. "Toby!" Evan yelled and turned to help her. Switching tranquilizer gun for automated rifle, he opened fire and hammered the animal with dozens of bullets.

The monster thrashed around and roared in agony. Swinging around, its tail struck him and knocked him to the ground and sent his gun flying out of his grasp. The creature prepared to strike. In a flash, Dylan pulled him upright and firing her tranquilizer hit the gorgonopsid directly in its rump. Dazed by the stinging pain, it turned and snorted before retreating into the forest.

"Everyone, get back to the cars." She ordered. Mac pulled a shaken Toby to her feet and they ran back towards the trucks. Upon reaching their vehicles, Evan leaned against the car bonnet. "We need a new plan." He stated after a few moments. "The gorgonopsid took us complete by surprise." "And we still need to find the lizard." Dylan reminded them. Evan groaned.

Suddenly a chirping sounded from nearby. They turned to find the lizard perching in the treetops near the parking lot. It was watching them. Evan was amazed "Did it really follow us?" "It must have." Dylan replied yet she sounded equally amazed "Maybe we can catch it." She suggested hopefully. She walked up to Evan's truck and unlocked the doors. She opened up the boot, got out a pet cage and placed it on the car roof. Then they held their breath and waited.

Then everyone held their breath. To everyone's amazement, the lizard fluttered down onto the truck roof. The lizard chirruped and looked at the cage then back at Evan. It circled around then climbed inside the trap and settled down. "Did that really just happen?" Evan asked stunned. Dylan was in amazement "Wow. Just wow"

Evan grinned delightedly. "I can't believe it one creature caught already. Dylan shut the cage and walked over to Evan's car. He tossed her the keys and she dumped the carrier on the ground before catching the keys. She unlocked the vehicle and after opening the back door, put the carrier on the back seat. She then wound down the back windows. She then climbed out, slammed the door shut and locked the SUV doors before tossing the keys back to Evan.

"Right, now we need a plan to catch its bigger, uglier cousin." Evan stated. "I have a plan." Toby said. Everyone turned to her in surprise. After the near encounter with the gorgonopsid, she sat been sitting on a bench near her truck and watching. "You do?" Dylan asked. She nodded. "Alright, let's hear it." Evan stated.

"We go back to the field where we saw the horses. I heard at least one dog barking but I saw two others tied up. We know the gorgonopsid feasts on Scutosaurus in its own habitat and here seems to enjoy the taste of horses. The property we passed must be private property because it's got horses grazing on it and the dogs must be used as guards. So I say we take one of the horses and leave it tethered to a tree or a fence."

"We all take hidden positions near the animal and have our guns ready. We wait for its cries to attract the creature then just before our monster kills the horse, we all fire at once hitting the creature with several darts and pumping it full of high-level tranquilizer. The gorgonopsid will panic and try to flee but before long the tranquilizers will bring it down."

"And what if after being shot, it turns and kills the horse anyway?" Dylan asked. Toby sighed "Then I guess we locate the anomaly, tie up the gorgonopsid and get the lizard cage. We push the gorgonopsid through. We get the trap and open it to let the lizard fly through to its own time period. Once the gorgonopsid wakes up, it'll tear open the ropes and wander off. We wait for it to close and get Ken Leeds to blame the livestock deaths on a wild cat that escaped from a zoo"

Evan sighed "I don't like this but it's the best plan we've got." "Wait how will we get the horse off the property to start with?" Dylan asked "We know the farmer owns guard dogs that will alert him if we just lead it off? Plus he might have a gun and he has every legal right to shoot us." Everyone thought for a moment then Evan snapped his fingers "I got it!" Everyone turned to him.

"We show him the horse carcass and say we're zoo officials and that a dangerous big cat has escaped from the Vancouver zoo. It's roaming the woods killing farm animals and for his safety we're taking his horse to an animal shelter for temporary relocation so its scent or sound won't draw the creature to his house."

"We'll tell him to bring his dogs inside and keep them all quiet. We can tell him to stay inside his house, keep all windows and doors locked with curtains shut. Try not to make too much noise or leave lights on and not to go outside no matter what. Then he's also relatively safe and his dogs can't alert the gorgonopsid."

"Plus Ken Leeds can fix up a story for the newspaper about a zoo escapee, he can track down and convince a nearby zoo to admit the cat was theirs and set up profiles for us as experienced animal trappers." Toby added. Dylan smiled "Let's do it."

"Okay while you do that I'm going to go find the anomaly." Toby said. Then the two turned to her with matching looks of disbelief "What?" She asked. "Ah ah. No way." Evan said, "There is no way going off alone and unarmed with a monster patrolling the woods"

Toby sighed "Evan I'll be fine." "No you won't!" He argued "Then give me a gun!" She cried yet he shook his head "Someone needs to find it!" "Well then Dylan can go." He said. "Oh and why does she get to go?" Toby asked "Because one, she is trained and firearm management and use. Two, she is experienced in tracking and taking down dangerous animals including predators and three, she wasn't nearly killed just five minutes ago by a monster!"

By the end Evan was shouting. Dylan gently placed a hand on his right shoulder to pacify him. Toby was merely looking up at him in surprise. She had never, not once, heard or seen him lose his temper like that before. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before speaking again

"Listen Toby I've lost so many people I care about because of the anomalies and these creatures; my wife, Brooke, my longtime friend Ange and now maybe my best friend Mac. I can't lose you too. You and Dylan are the only friends I have left." His voice now was soft yet filled with worry and pain.

"Evan listen I promise you, you won't lose me or Dylan. Ever. We'll never leave you Evan you're my best friend too and nothing will ever change that and Dylan and you are inseparable now, I see you, you work so well together"

"Plus I'm sure I speak the truth when I say that Dylan would never be ever to turn away and go back to her old life. Not now. And not without you" The animal lover nodded in response "But, we're on an important mission right now. We're tracking a dangerous animal and even if we bring it down we don't know where to put it someone needs to find out where the anomaly is precisely so we can send it back to its time."

"Alright but be careful!" Evan insisted. "I'll be fine." She called over her shoulder even though she was already heading off. Halfway along, she broke into a run eager to find the glowing ball of light. Evan looked concerned and Dylan placed her hand on his shoulder "She'll be fine." He nodded "I hope so."

"Right back to the plan" He said and the pair headed back towards the farm. Upon arriving at the farm however, they discovered an awful scene. The wooden fence bordering the field had been flattened and the skeletal remnants of two goats were lying scattered around the field. Both carcasses had been fully consumed, leaving only bones and hide. The stench was awful so they quickly moved on.

The gorgonopsid had got here before them. They went into the farmyard where they found the barn doors shredded and smashed down. Luckily the barn was empty. Inside the stable, it was a different story. Three horses stood in stalls. One of the horses was whinnying and rearing up clearly spooked.

The other two were shifting nervously in the stalls. They followed a trampled trail of straw to the back of the stable. There, they found an automated rifle lying on the floor with bullets scattered around it.

Suddenly a terrible stench, like rotting meat, hit them. The trio gagged and covered their noses. Fearing a dead body on the property, they followed the smell around to the rear of the property to a set of dog units.

One of the kennels had been torn open and the gate pulled off its hinges. The bones and skull of a toy poodle lay scattered inside accompanied by a horrible smell. The bones had picked clean of flesh. Only a few scraps of fur blew around in the wind. The others quickly moved away. They couldn't help the dog.

After exploring further, they found a ginger cat wandering around the property. As they approached however it darted up into the house.

In the barn it would be safe; it was unlikely the gorgonopsid would come back. The cat and the three horses had been of no interest to the gorgonopsid. Still full from its meal of horse and goat flesh it had ignored the animals. So then why had it ventured onto the property? The frightened horse had calmed down slightly and was standing in its stall. The other horses were quietly eating hay. Until now they had moved in silence yet upon entering the house they found a haunting scene.

They front door had been splintered open and torn off its hinges, now it was lying on the crumpled hall rug. Part of the front wall had been smashed in with bricks and pieces of stone littering the ruined hallway.

There was no sign of a body and the farmer's car was gone from the drive so they'd been left to assume he had escaped the creature's attack and driven off but he had unknowingly put himself in more danger. The man's ginger cat sat on a chair in the front room watching them. They quickly left to search the rest of the property

A gorgonopsid racing at full speed could run faster than the fastest cars invented. Secondly a moving target was interesting. Even if it wasn't hungry, the moving car would trigger its primal instincts and the creature would run after the car anyway.

"I think I know what happened here." Evan said and Dylan nodded "Alright let's hear it." "The Gorgonopsid had returned to the farm border looking for food. It recognized the spot and remembered prey being here before. It killed and finished off both goats pretty quickly. It then began to roam through the forest near the property."

"The poodle we saw heard or smelt the gorgonopsid and started barking. The farmer left his house to investigate and by then the creature had emerged from the woods and was in the field."

"He screamed and ran into the barn. He had his rifle with him already. He shut and locked the doors behind him. The therapsid spotted him and ran after him; it followed him, ran up into the yard and after sniffing around, locked onto the smell. Then the creature charged up and smashed straight through the barn doors. The horses panicked and started rearing."

"The gorgonopsid ignored the horses and was still locked onto the farmer's scent; he loaded his gun and shot at it a few times. His shots may have hit or maybe not but they distracted the creature because he got past the gorgonopsid and made it out of the barn. He ran up into his house and locked the front door. The creature left the barn and tore down the door but couldn't its massive body through the doorway so it smashed its way through the entrance into the hallway."

"By then the farmer ran through the rooms and exited through the back door. He ran past the kennels and out into the yard. He got into his car, started up and pulled out before driving away as fast as he could. The gorgonopsid heard the car starting and moving off so it backed out of the property and took off after the car yet I'm guessing it couldn't keep up with a speeding vehicle for long. It then came back and passed the property."

"The creature then heard the dog barking and went into the garden; it ripped open the kennel and killed the poodle quickly. By now it would have used up much of its energy in the chase and would be feeling hungry again. The creature ate all of its prey. It then went back into the forest without seeing the guy's cat." He finished grimly. "Let's take one of those horses and go" Nodding, Dylan agreed.

She went into the stable and emerged a few minutes ago leading a tall black stallion. Evan nodded "Let's go." The team headed off into the forest with Evan leading the way, tranquilizer gun held out and ready. Dylan followed leading the horse. They emerged into a small clearing and Dylan wrapped the horses' reigns around a warped tree limb.

The horse had been following calmly until now. Upon being tethered, it reared up on its hind limbs and neighed loudly. The equine animal could pull free of its reigns. Neighing, it dropped back onto four feet. Panicking the horse trotted around in circles and neighed in alarm.

Dylan looked upset by its distress yet knew that for the plan to work to work the horse had to continue struggling and neighing so its alarmed calls would be picked up by the gorgonopsid.

After a while the stallion gave up fighting and stood still although neighed and occasionally tried pulling free of its reigns. Before long, the pair heard growling and branches breaking. As if sensing danger, the horse reared up again and neighed. Evan signaled to Dylan to listen out and be ready.

He tapped his ear then gestured to his gun and fixed his sights on the clearing. Without Toby they all had to fire simultaneously if they wanted to bring down the Gorgonopsid down quickly.

The growling grew louder and the horse galloped around in circles. It neighed and reared up before dropping back and trotting around. Then the gorgonopsid stalked into view. It spied the frightened horse as easy prey and roared. The therapsid turned and lunged forward to clamp its jaws down onto its prey as the panicked horse reared up neighing.

"Now, fire!" Evan yelled and simultaneously, the pair fired a dozen high concentration darts at high speeds. The darts hit and embedded into the creature's rump, sides and hind legs.

Distracted, it turned and roared angrily yet seemed to quickly shake off the tranquilizer effects and turned to maul the horse. Neighing, the horse turned and breaking free of its reigns, cantered away into the forest.

The gorgonopsid turned to follow yet suddenly; it snorted and shook its head. The creature nearly stumbled and let out several growls. Then, the creature staggered and keeled over with a thud. Its eyes slid shut as the gorgonopsid lost consciousness. "Yes!" Evan shouted, grinning.

He emerged from his spot behind a tree, clutching his gun and smiling. Toby and Dylan strode towards them grinning. "It worked, I'm impressed." Dylan said jokingly and Evan smirked..

"Now I'm gonna go call Lieutenant Leeds to sort out the zoo and big cat story as well as get a team of animal control officers to get the dogs to an animal shelter and to track down our missing homeowner. And a team to clean up the wrecked property"

"I've got bad news guys." A familiar voice rang out behind them. They turned to see Toby striding towards them, gun in hand. "Good to have you back." Evan said clapping him on the shoulder. Yet Toby looked grim, Dylan frowned "You found the anomaly right?" "She nodded "Yup it opened next to the local road but closed after three minutes."

"Damn it!" Evan cursed. "Well what the hell are we supposed to do with it now?" Toby said. Evan sighed and ran a hand savagely through his messy hair "I don't know." "Can't we just shoot it and dump the body in the freezer back at Cross Photonics?" Toby suggested. "No we can't." Evan said tiredly.

"We've already killed too many creatures; the raptor, the pteranodon, both Lycaenops and one of the Titanis." "Well what can we do with a giant prehistoric creature?" "Plus there's still the flying lizard to deal with." "Dylan said and Toby groaned "That won't be a problem." Evan said

"The Coelurosauruvus is no danger. I can keep it in a heated glass tank in my office and tell people it's just a rare flying lizard. There's no way to hide a gorgonopsid." "We could take it back to the company and place it in storage in the basement?" Dylan suggested. Evan looked uneasy.

Suddenly before their eyes, the anomaly flared back into existence right in the centre of the clearing; a whirling ball of glass shards floating in midair. Everyone gaped "I don't believe it." Toby said. Evan was the first to react "Quick! Let's push this creature back before it wakes up!"

But before they could react, the therapsid's eyes snapped open. "Back! Get back!" Evan yelled and everyone stumbled backwards. Snorting, it raised its head and staggered upright with a proud roar. Evan trained his rifle on the gorgonopsid, yet to their surprise it turned its head to the time portal and took a great sniff as if sensing the warm climate of its Permian era habitat.

Growling, it turned and returned to its time, seconds before the anomaly vanished behind it. A moment of silence followed then the team erupted in cheers and clapping. Evan and Dylan shook hands on a job well done. Both were smiling happily then both hugged an ecstatic Toby

Two weeks later, the dogs had been rescued by animal control officers and were living happily at a shelter. The stallion was also living in the shelter barn after being found drinking at a nearby stream. The property had been cordoned off and quarantined, all traces of the gorgonopsid had been removed and thanks to the fast response of Ken Leeds's team they found the farmer's battered and damaged car lying tipped into a ditch.

His vehicle had been followed and forced off the road by the therapsid. Luckily, he was still strapped into the front seat. He was unconscious with minor cuts and bruises yet amazingly alive. The creature had seemingly lost interest when the car plunged into the ditch and stopped moving and hadn't bothered to pull out the driver. He was lucky to be alive.

He woke up in hospital and seemed to have forgotten all about the incident he was visited by Evan and simply told that he was drunken and had lost control of the vehicle.

Any memories of a "dinosaur" had been hallucinations brought on by the alcohol. The case was closed and the man returned to his property where his horse was returned to him. The death of his poodle was blamed on a rabid wolf attack and the group claimed to have shot the wolf responsible.

The Coelurosauruvus was living at Evan's home. He had originally kept the flying lizard in his office yet eventually he brought it home. He had never had a pet aside from his parents' dog which had passed away when he was only 2 years old. Surprisingly, he had come to love the creature. He had formed a strong bond with the flying lizard and house trained it to do its business in a box like a cat. He fed it on a diet of live insects and fresh vegetables.

He had even named the Coelurosauruvus, Rex after his parents' dog. It was female and was surprisingly tame. Little did he know that the lizard had once lived in the menagerie of the old British ARC (Anomaly Research Centre) before it was decommissioned and shut down alongside many other stranded animals that were left behind when their anomalies closed.

When the ARC was closed down, all the official equipment were put into storage at a top secret government facility yet left in working order just in case the anomaly phenomenon began once more; the EMDS, the ADD, the locking device and the detectors were put into storage at a top secret government facility yet left in working order just in case the anomaly phenomenon began once more.

But what could be done with all of the creatures in the storage facility? The Minister suggested having the dinosaurs destroyed and the remains incinerated. Yet Abby Maitland, the ARC's creature expert was heartbroken. She was in charge of the menagerie. She cared for the animals, fed, cleaned and cared for them. She had formed a strong personal bond with all the animals. She dearly loved her collection even the carnivores.

She had risked her job and even her life to protect them. She risked her job and the job of her beloved fiancé, Connor Temple when Phillip Burton threatened to euthanize her animals. She had even risked her life to protect her dracorex from a medieval knight who was trying to kill it, thinking it was a dragon.

Her beloved pets; Rex, Sid and Nancy were part of the collection. If they were shot it would be like losing her parents all over again. Lester authorized her to take the two Diictodons back home to live with her and Connor as pets.

But there was still the issue of what could be done with the others;

Rex the coelurosauruvus, the sabre-tooth, the Scutosaurus, the giant scorpion, the raptors, the arboreal dinosaur, the two Deinosuchus, the Tyrannosaurus, the meganuera, the Dracorex and the two Columbian mammoths.

Luckily James Lester stepped in. He used his private funds to construct his own version of the menagerie in the gardens of his mansion, a reward for saving present day civilization from the Convergence. The new centre was an open air safari park with the right conditions for each creature. Abby was free to come whenever she liked and her collection was safe.

However, when the very last anomaly in the UK appeared it led to the Permian age. Several Scutosaurus wandered through and began to roam through the forest. After some coaxing and shouting, they used a tractor to gently herd the therapsid herbivores back through to their own time. The process took one hour

Yet then the decision was made to send Rex back to his time period. The decision was a difficult one and Abby initially refused but after a gentle talk from Matt realized it was the kindest thing to do. All the team members were sorry to see him go. Even Lester was touched as Rex had come to be the ARC's mascot and a friend to all of them. Even Becker liked the little lizard.

The last time an anomaly opened to the right time they sent Rex back yet he returned and after several failed attempts they chose to keep him as a pet. However, this was partly because Abby and Connor were still stranded in the past and to send him back without the two seeing each other again one last time would break Abby's heart especially after all the horrors she had experienced in the cretaceous era

Yet they all knew deep down, this was the last time they would see an anomaly and while they couldn't send the other creatures back to their time periods they could at least send Rex back. It was where he belonged.

Yet now she was here and through her tears, she said her goodbyes to her long time pet then stroked him one last time. Connor also said his goodbyes and moved to comfort Abby. The whole team watched with mixed feelings.

The SAS soldiers used poles to prod him gently into a box and then he was carried out to the SAS cars. He was driven to the anomaly site, the box opened and he flew through to his own world and then the anomaly closed behind him. Rex was now back where he belonged.

By the time the team remembered that Sid and Nancy were also from that time it was too late. The little Diictodons were now marooned in the present for good. But in a way it was a comfort that Abby and Connor hadn't lost all their prehistoric pets. That night they lay in bed, comforting each other knowing that although they would never see Rex again he was back where he belonged.

Yet when this anomaly opened, it didn't just let the gorgonopsid through Rex had come through as well looking for the bipedal, warm-blooded ones whom he had interacted with and lived with during his last stay into the new land. Instead, he discovered she found a different land but with the same bipedal creatures. He did not know what they were but she knew in this new land he would flourish. His instincts never failed him.

He would miss the dominant blonde-furred female and her more timid black-furred mate but now he had a new leader and his leader had him.


End file.
